PROTOTYPE
by Odd Tailor
Summary: Urumi seems to have returned to her old ways. A doubtful Yoshito finds out that her recent behavior is due to a glitch in her genetic programming as she is a superhuman prototype. However, so is he.
1. Default Chapter

PROTOTYPE  
  
This be a tribute of sorts to The Big W. Disclaimers apply as there are elements of JOHN DOE, ALIAS, and DARK ANGEL that I used.  
  
"Aizawa?"  
  
"Here!"  
  
"Ashimoto?"  
  
"Here, sensei!"  
  
"Yoshikawa?"  
  
"Here!"  
  
"Uehara?"  
  
"Here!"  
  
"Murai?"  
  
"Right here."  
  
"Tomoko?"  
  
"Here, sensei!"  
  
And so on and so forth as Onizuka took his class' attendance. True to his irreverent nature, Onizuka wasn't going about the list alphabetically and called out their names in random fashion, ticking each one off after hearing their reply.  
  
"Fujiyoshi?"  
  
"Here!"  
  
"Kusano?'  
  
"Here!"  
  
"Tochiiro?"  
  
"Here!"  
  
"Iijima?"  
  
"Here!"  
  
"Kikuchi?"  
  
"Here, sensei."  
  
"Kanzaki?" No answer.  
  
"Kanzaki?!" Still no answer.  
  
"Kanzaki Urumi?!!" Onizuka called out the third time, looking up from the list. "Hmm...absent again. You have any idea where she is, Kikuchi?" he suddenly asked a surprised Kikuchi.  
  
"Huh?! Err...no sensei," Kikuchi replied, frowning slightly. How in the world was he supposed to know where Kanzaki was? Still, this did not deter Onizuka from forming the idea that Kikuchi was the one who would know. Kikuchi could feel the stares coming from all over the room.  
  
"Well, I guess she's absent again," Onizuka shrugged as he finished the roll call and proceeded with the lesson.  
  
Despite the slight embarrassment he felt, Kikuchi was curious as to why Kanzaki was absent again. That would be the second week that she missed half of her classes. Not that it mattered academically as she always aced the exams (like he did) that were given after but it was still unnatural as far as he was concerned.  
  
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"If you ask me, I think she's reverting back to her "I hate teachers!" mode," Murai expressed over lunch.  
  
"You think so?" Kusano asked.  
  
"Well how else can you explain it? It's been the second week that she's been absent more often than not. The last time she did that, we ended up with an overweight teacher, though Kikuchi here deserves half the credit for that," Fujiyoshi added.  
  
"I don't believe she's doing that, not our Kanzaki. She isn't that way anymore," Tomoko chimed in as she joined the table.  
  
"I'd like to share in your belief Tomoko, but it does seem like Kanzaki's up to her usual antics," Yoshikawa stated.  
  
"I don't think Kanzaki IS reverting to her earlier state at all," Kikuchi said quietly. Everyone turned to look at him.  
  
"Really? How would you know?" asked Kusano.  
  
"I don't. But it doesn't add up," Kikuchi replied. Kusano was about to question him further if not for Murai making a declaration of his own.  
  
"Well, if Kanzaki IS going cuckoo again, she'll have to go through me. I won't let her terrorize sensei," Murai declared.  
  
"Oooh, Kunio! Does that mean I have your blessings to court your mother?" Onizuka asked as he popped out of nowhere, eliciting surprise and laughter from the group save for Murai who went after him with a baseball bat shouting threats to Onizuka. Onizuka however, managed to disable Murai and returned to the table, having Murai in a headlock.  
  
"Now, now; it's not nice to gossip about your classmate. I believe Kanzaki has valid reasons why her attendance has been erratic," Onizuka reminded them seriously. Then his expression changed and he added, "Now where is Murai's lunch? I haven't had a decent breakfast yet."  
  
"Keep away from my mother and keep away from my lunch!!!" Murai shouted as he desperately struggled to free himself from the headlock.  
  
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After classes were over, Kikuchi headed over to the library for some additional research. On the way, he was thinking of the conversation he and his friends were having over lunch. He admitted that had it been a couple of months ago, he could easily dismiss it as one of 'Kanzaki's classics' as he would put it. All indications pointed to such a thing but there was something amiss. Kikuchi could not reconcile her current actions to the exchange they had that day at the pool. He remembered Urumi saying clearly how school had changed for her since Onizuka came and how she wished those days would last forever. Her words had been said with complete and utter honesty.  
  
However, Kikuchi also recalled another conversation a few days back when he questioned Kanzaki about her absences. It had been nothing more than harmless banter between 2 uber-geniuses when Kanzaki suddenly turned hostile on him.  
  
"Why are you being nosy about it anyway?!!! Can't you just mind your own business?!!" she had said, her mood shifting quickly from cheerful to wary to downright angry. Kanzaki had stormed out of the room after that, leaving a surprised Kikuchi in her wake.  
  
She waited for Kikuchi after class, however, and treated him to a sushi dinner. She was apologetic about the whole incident but refused to explain her actions, finally opening up only when he reassured her that he would always be there for her when she needed someone to talk to.  
  
"I CAN count on you, can I, Yoshito?" she had asked. He had nodded in assent, but the tone of her voice and the look in her eyes had bothered Kikuchi. There was something about it, a hint of desperation that he had never seen in her.  
  
He was still lost in thought when he was suddenly accosted by Onizuka who for some odd reason, still had Murai in a headlock while Tomoko was walking beside them.  
  
"Hey there, Kikuchi! Still studying? It's a Friday night, you know. Time for some fun!" Onizuka declared in a heroic pose. (Or as heroic as he could make it with a choking Murai in his arms.) There was a dreamy look in his eyes that made Kikuchi groan inwardly. No doubt his teacher was lost in his theatrical imaginings again.  
  
He sighed in exasperation. "As much as I'd like to sensei, I've some research to do in the library. Where are you guys off to, by the way?" Kikuchi asked in reply.  
  
"We're having dinner at Kunio's place. Julia invited us over for some sushi and miso soup. Nyaa-ha-ha-ha!" Onizuka replied.  
  
"Who invited you, you peroxide-blond freak?!!! Let me go!!! Aaaack!" Murai added while still in headlock.  
  
In truth, Julia Murai had not been planning to invite anyone in particular. It was just through sheer coincidence that when she called Kunio through his new cellphone (in order to inform him that they would be having miso soup and sushi for dinner), Tomoko had been admiring the phone and comparing it to hers. Kunio had left the table for a while so Tomoko had taken the call and offered to take a message. Kunio arrived just as their conversation had ended so Julia still got to talk to him. She suddenly had the idea of asking her son to bring along that pleasant girl who answered his phone, much to Kunio's surprise, and ensured her son's compliance by having him pass the phone back to Tomoko so she could invite the girl personally.  
  
Unfortunately, Tomoko had been a little bit too enthusiastic about accepting, causing Onizuka to get wind of the conversation and inviting himself over. As far as he was concerned, an invitation to one of his students was automatically extended to him as well.  
  
"It was really nice of Ms. Julia to invite me, don't you think so, Kikuchi?" Tomoko enthused.  
  
"Yes! Yes! Very nice indeed!" Onizuka concurred, causing Kikuchi to roll his eyes.  
  
"Yes, it was. Well, you all go ahead and have a good time, Tomo-chan," Kikuchi said hurriedly, in an attempt to end the conversation and get rid of Onizuka.  
  
"Hey Kikuchi, why the need to research anyway? It's not like you of all people would have any difficulty with the subject-matter. I'm sure you won't need the whole weekend for that," Kunio added after finally freeing himself from the headlock.  
  
"Murai's right, you know. Like they say: 'All work and no play makes jumping jacks dull.' Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" quoted Onizuka, eliciting incredulous looks from his 3 students. "Oh before I forget, could you be the one to give Kanzaki her assignment on your way home?" He handed a brown envelope to Kikuchi.  
  
Kikuchi stared at his teacher. "Why me, sensei?"  
  
"Why not? Your place is quite near hers anyway, just a small detour if I recall it right. Just leave it in the mailbox with a note if she's not there," Onizuka stated matter-of-factly.  
  
Kikuchi wanted to argue against it further but he knew it would be useless so he just accepted the folder, making a mental note to drop it off at Kanzaki's place later.  
  
After two hours of research, Kikuchi exited the library and proceeded to bike home. He remembered that he needed to drop off Kanzaki's homework so he took a small detour. Arriving at Kanzaki's, he got off from the bike and rang the bell. No one replied however and as the house seemed dark, Kikuchi assumed that no one was home. He was about to look for the mailbox when he recalled Urumi saying that about a week ago, a slight vehicular accident outside their place resulted in the loss of their mailbox as it got run over.  
  
He decided that the best way to do so was to leave the envelope on the front steps of the main door. He scribbled a small note for Urumi and stuck it on the envelope. He then stood in front of the gate, looked around to make sure he was alone, then jumped over it in a single leap. He left the envelope on the steps, walked back to the gate, and jumped over it again.  
  
"Hope no one saw me doing that stunt," Kikuchi thought to himself as he straddled his bike.  
  
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A few meters away, a figure hidden in a building was observing Kikuchi's every move. He had tracked Kikuchi ever since the young man emerged from the library. As soon as he saw Kikuchi jump effortlessly over the high gates, he brought out his radio.  
  
"Subject has jumped, I repeat, jumped over the gates. He appears to have left a file or folder of some sort. Subject is now on his bike and riding away," the figure reported.  
  
"Very good, OWL-1. Return to base immediately. RAPTOR-team will proceed with pursuit and capture. MK will be glad to hear our report," replied the other party.  
  
"Understood."  
  
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Somewhere in a heavily guarded facility, a lone female figure in a straightjacket was currently resting in a padded room. She had spent the last few days in solitary confinement as her mental state had degraded over the past month until it reached the point where she was highly unstable and couldn't function in a normal environment. On the other side of a one way mirror, two figures were watching her every move.  
  
"It's confirmed, ma'am: her mental condition has been compromised. The emergence of the other persona was not seamless and instead of integration, there's cancellation," stated one of the technicians as he handed over his reports to his superior.  
  
The person he was addressing took a few minutes to quickly read his reports though this was unnecessary as she already knew what was written in the report. This was but another confirmation for her.  
  
"So the original persona will be erased totally if left untreated?" she asked.  
  
"Yes, ma'am. There's a 65% possibility of that right now though we've managed to temporarily halt the process by administering some of the behavior-altering drugs you made. However, we needed a massive dose just to placate her like that," the tech replied.  
  
"I see. Keep me posted of any development. I'll be in my office," she stated.  
  
She waited for her technician before activating a display on her table. She played the video of the test subject then proceeded to make a video-call while watching the images. The party she was calling immediately took the call and an image appeared in one of the screens.  
  
"I take it, you're viewing the video I'm streaming to you now?" she opened, sans pleasantries.  
  
The person on the other end took a while to digest what he was viewing in real-time before replying.  
  
"Yes. I assume she's past phase-2 of the persona-degradation?" he asked, to which she nodded in assent. Michiko still felt uneasy about Kazuma's seeming lack of animosity and this caused her to ask him about it.  
  
"What? No scathing remarks? No scolding? I admit that you and your theories were right on the dot when you said this would happen so I assume you're feeling quite smug about the whole thing," she said irritably. The figure on the other side just sighed and gave her a slight grin.  
  
"I'm not given to vindictiveness, you know. But don't get me wrong, Michiko; the privilege to gloat is still mine, and I will use it when I see fit," replied the man.  
  
His features had a slight harshness as he said those words, but this softened as he continued.  
  
"This is not the time for it however; so it's best we focus our efforts to the task at hand," he added.  
  
"Thank you, Kazuma," she replied.  
  
The man known as Kazuma merely nodded then proceeded to watch the rest of the streaming video. He didn't even finish the rest of the video as he already deduced the gravity of the situation from the early parts of the footage. Kazuma terminated the link and went back to Michiko.  
  
"No doubt about it, she's past Phase-2. At best, we have either 12 hours or 2 days the most before it becomes irreversible and the second persona will have taken over. With what you've sent me, I assume it stands at 65%?" Kazuma asked.  
  
"Sixty-five percent and rising, even as she sleeps," Michiko replied.  
  
Both people stayed silent for a while before Michiko spoke up again.  
  
"While I am grateful for your cooperation, I am confused by it. We ARE on opposing teams, are we not?" she asked.  
  
"Opposing teams as far as execution was concerned. The way I see it, your only error lay in the fact that you didn't take the additional necessary step in your execution of this project. Other than that, you've a brilliant team and what we've been doing is basically the same experiment these past few years. Our superiors DID stipulate that whichever team succeeds COMPLETELY gets to absorb the other team. Let's face it; I'd rather have you and your team, cooperate with me WILLINGLY rather than RELUCTANTLY. I consider the addition of you and your team to mine to be a huge bonus," Kazuma replied.  
  
"More so, this is your daughter we're talking about here, not some lab rat. Our situations may have been easily reversed you know...." Kazuma added as she noted more than a hint of sympathy in his voice and countenance. Another few seconds of deafening silence passed by before Kazuma spoke up.  
  
"We still have enough time before total assimilation so I guess there's no other way. I've exhausted all scenarios and possibilities and I've reached the same conclusion as you," Kazuma began.  
  
"So you're amicable to my plan?" Michiko asked.  
  
"Yes, I am. You have my full permission to involve my son in this project. I'm sending over complete details of how to effectively AND harmelessly extract the missing gene-component from my son then splice it into Urumi's DNA. Let me know when Team Raptor has Yoshito in custody," Kazuma stated.  
  
"You knew?" Michiko asked, completely surprised by Kazuma's knowledge of Team Raptor's existence and current mission.  
  
"Mi casa, su casa, Michiko. That's for me to know and for you....not to know. He-he. But be warned though: I expect you and your team to carry out MY instructions to the letter. I want no deviations. Are we clear on that?" Kazuma asked.  
  
"YOUR instructions? Since when did you have any authority over my team?" Michiko replied, irritation evident in her voice.  
  
"Since 2 weeks ago. That was when our superiors learned of Urumi's worsening condition. I was then granted BLANKET authority over BOTH teams. And by the way, I wasn't the one who informed them about it. They found out on their own. I suggest you further screen your personnel and staff so as to flush out the mole," Kazuma replied without batting an eyelash.  
  
Michiko Kanzaki stared daggers at him for a while but relented in the end. Kazuma Kikuchi could've done more to compromise her and her team but he did no such thing. Over the years, he and his team were more than civil; behaving much like lawyers on opposing counsels and were transparent with their findings, bearing in mind that their teams were working for a common goal. They always apprised Michiko of anything and everything that might prove useful to their project. It was Michiko's team who behaved badly and frequently withheld information, more often than not.  
  
"I meant to inform you of this but I just couldn't find the time. We've been quite busy working on a solution for Urumi ever since I learned of her condition. I know of course, that my son Yoshito is in no risk of this but I didn't want to take chances," Kazuma explained.  
  
"No need for explanations, doctor. You have my full cooperation," Michiko replied, surprised that he and his team were actually working on Urumi's cure.  
  
"Very well, doctor. I'll expect hourly reports," Kazuma stated.  
  
"And doctor?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Thanks."  
  
With that, Michiko Kanzaki ended the conversation and terminated the link.  
  
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Yoshito was heading home, turning into an alley for a shortcut. He stopped however, when his way was blocked by 6 men who looked like they meant business.  
  
"Kikuchi Yoshito?" one of the men asked.  
  
'Who wants to know?" Kikuchi replied.  
  
"Your questions will be answered later. You must come with us," the man replied.  
  
"I'm sorry but my parents told me never to go with strangers," Yoshito insulted.  
  
"Please don't make this difficult for yourself. It's better than you come willingly or else we may have to resort to extreme measures," the other one replied.  
  
Kikuchi was about to turn back and head out of the alley when he saw that the other end had been blocked by a van. The men began to approach him, attempting to get him in a pincer maneuver. Six more men emerged from the van and they too began to approach Kikuchi. They brought out what seemed to be batons but upon closer inspection, these were tazer-batons, each capable of delivering 75kilovolt jolt. Kikuchi took a quick glance towards the earlier group and saw that they too brandished the same weapons.  
  
"I'm sorry but I don't think I can comply," Kikuchi replied as he threw his bike to the side and prepared to defend himself.  
  
These men expected this to be a routine assignment but they were sadly mistaken. Three of the first batch rushed Kikuchi but found him to be no easy prey. They were driven back by quick punches and feints that they did not expect a young man like Kikuchi could possess. As soon as they were driven back momentarily, the others rushed in as well.  
  
"All this for delivering homework? What is the world coming to?" Kikuchi said to himself, feeling exasperated.  
  
Kikuchi had to rethink his options more than a tad quickly as there were now more than 3 assailants. Those batons did pack a mean shock and the risk of getting tagged even accidentally was increased. A quick scan of his surroundings and Kikuchi found something that would aid him greatly in his defense. He grabbed a discarded pole which came from a pool-cleaners company and used it like a quarter-staff. The tough plastic construction ensured insulation from electric-shock. Once he wielded it, the men suffered numerous hits and found that Kikuchi's defenses were nigh impossible to penetrate. One of the men who had yet to join the melee was reporting to his superiors.  
  
"Subject is resisting our attempts to capture him. He's also showing remarkable skill in martial arts and weapons proficiency."  
  
"What did you expect?! That kid's the other XF-prototype! Proceed with extreme caution but use all means to capture him. MK wants him unharmed, I repeat, unharmed," instructed the contact.  
  
Back in the facility, Michiko Kanzaki was watching with great interest what was happening in the alley. This was the first time she saw Yoshito in action and she had to admit that Kazuma's method was much better than hers and the results or rather the 'result' known as Yoshito Kikuchi was there to prove it. Flowing with almost a feline grace, Yoshito was making short work of the team-members currently fighting him.  
  
Yoshito had yet to break a sweat as he had not been going all out. He was making use of the advantage of fighting inside a confined area and using the men's efforts against them. One of the commanders saw this however and signaled his team to up the ante while sending in the more skillful members of his team.  
  
Yoshito was taken by surprise when 4 new members attacked from all sides. He took a couple of bone-jarring hits as his attacks were unable to connect nor was he able defend himself from their counterattacks.  
  
"Whoa! These new guys are fast and powerful. He almost took my jaw out with that one. Have to be on the defensive for now. Let's see what they've got: 2 of them use advanced SCARS-system; one is a 3rd-level combat-Wushu expert while the last one mixes elements of combat-aikido with Brazilian- grappling. Impressive...." Kikuchi thought as he came up with a new tactic.  
  
Meanwhile, the observer was updating his reports to his superiors.  
  
"Subject has taken a substantial number of hits but remains standing. Clear confirmation of highly increased stamina and strength," he reported.  
  
Michiko Kanzaki had to suppress a smile from forming. This only proved how much of a success their projects were.  
  
Back in the alley, Kikuchi was being beset by the 4 new attackers and from the look of things, losing. He was unable to parry all the attacks and got hit hard a number of times. He flipped over one of them only to have the other kick him in the gut as he was airborne. Kikuchi landed hard and was breathing raggedly as the one who tagged him approached.  
  
"You're tough kid, but not tough enough. Is that all you've got?" he sneered.  
  
Kikuchi made no reply.  
  
"Nothing personal kid, just doing my job. Lights out now!" the man declared as he drew near. He then cocked his fist in order to knock Kikuchi out. He was in for a surprise as Kikuchi caught the blow at the last minute.  
  
"Not just yet,"Kikuchi stated as he applied pressure to the man's fist, crushing the bones a bit.  
  
The fight began anew and this time, it was Kikuchi who had the upper hand after a couple of seconds. It was only their incredible stamina from hard training which saved these men from suffering too much damage as Kikuchi was somehow able to read their moves now.  
  
"Our tactical advantage has been neutralized as subject has shown extremely rapid adaptation and assimilation of combat techniques. Suggest we raise intensity and use more drastic measures to capture the subject," the comm- ops reported.  
  
"That's a negative, Raptor-14. MK suggests you continue with current methods for the next 10 minutes. If subject manages to resist capture beyond that time, our snipers are in position. Just maneuver him to that area," replied his counterpart.  
  
Meanwhile, one of the SCARS-specialist was able to get Kikuchi in a grapple- position that would normally immobilize an ordinary human. The other one began attacking Kikuchi from the front and managed to connect with a few hard hits to the gut. Kikuchi blocked the next attack with his feet and knees and was able to drive off the other man. He then drove the man holding him backwards until they crashed into a wall, loosening the man's hold on him. Kikuchi then jumped as the man staggered forward, flipped over him, and reversed positions.  
  
"Goodbye!" said Kikuchi as he kicked the man in the back, causing him to crash into a huge trash bin. The remaining 3 resumed their attacks and Kikuchi had to defend himself from three sides.  
  
One of the team-members grew impatient with what was happening and joined in the fray too early. This man was a knife-fighting specialist and his initial attack was a half-dozen throwing knives almost all of which Kikuchi dodged save for the last two which he caught and stabbed into the feet of the two men who were currently fighting him as he parried then caught their kicks simultaneously.  
  
"Three down, nine to go," Kikuchi thought to himself as he engaged the Wushu expert while dodging the slashes of the knife expert.  
  
It was quite unfortunate however, that the noise they made attracted a couple of curious bystanders who decided to investigate. These people saw what was happening and one of them rushed to a nearby phone booth in order to alert the police. Not wanting to involve the authorities in this, Kikuchi jumped away from his assailants and ran towards the more unoccupied areas of the city, taunting them to follow him as he effortlessly jumped from rooftop to rooftop.  
  
"Subject's physical abilities are incredible! Are you getting this, home- base?" reported Raptor-12 as he watched Kikuchi's progress.  
  
"We see that, Raptor-12. Continue with your coverage. Snipers are in position."  
  
Kikuchi stopped running once he was inside and abandoned warehouse outside the city. His pursuers caught up to him and they gave a warning once more.  
  
"Again, I suggest you come quietly or we'll have to get serious!" threatened the commander.  
  
"Serious, eh? Well I want to see that," Kikuchi thought to himself as he just stood there waiting for them to make the first move.  
  
This time, the remaining 9 members rushed him all at once and Kikuchi was surprised at their amazing coordinated attack. Precise moves that were almost like a dance in their execution made things more difficult for Kikuchi but as he already read their moves, he was coping well. Any person would've been overwhelmed by now.  
  
"We're nearing the 10-minute mark, home-base. Snipers are on standby."  
  
"Copy that, Raptor-14."  
  
By now, Kikuchi had taken out 5 more of the team and the remaining 4 were slowly realizing that capturing Kikuchi was no walk in the park. Their commander gave the signal and they all jumped away from Kikuchi.  
  
"What the...? Aww, crap!" said Kikuchi as he realized why they jumped away from him.  
  
"Take him out, now!"  
  
At that command a sniper opened fire.  
  
Michiko Kanzaki had to gasp at what she witnessed on the screen. All in all, the first sniper had to fire all 4 rounds as Kikuchi dodged the first 3 shots and caught the last when he saw that they were just stun darts. What Kikuchi didn't take into account was there was another sniper in the adjacent rooftop.  
  
"Aww, shit! Another sniper........" was all Kikuchi could say as he passed out, while still holding the last stun-dart from the first sniper.  
  
Team Raptor gave a collective sigh of relief once they were certain that Kikuchi was completrely immobilized.  
  
"This is Raptor-1: subject is immobilized and in our custody," the team- leader reported.  
  
"Good work, Raptor-1. The heli-transports will be rendezvousing with your team in a clearing just 5 minutes northeast of that complex,"  
  
Once they had strapped Kikuchi onto a stretcher and loaded him into their van, the team leader gave final instructions to secure the area and erase all traces of their presence. While his team was busy, he made another call over a secure channel.  
  
"XF-1 has been captured, sir."  
  
"Very good, Raptor-1. I trust, my son is intact?"  
  
"Affirmative. I couldn't say the same for some of my team-members though. You son packs a whallop, sir."  
  
"Don't say I didn't warn you. That's why I chose you to head the team."  
  
"Thank you, sir. We'll be heading back to the facility when we meet up with the choppers. By the way sir, I expect a big raise for this assignment."  
  
"It's in your next paycheck."  
  
"Thank you, sir. Raptor-1 out."  
  
With that, Raptor-1 terminated communications and proceeded to the clearing where the helicopters would arrive to retrieve them. 


	2. Chapter 2

PROTOTYPE – Part 2  
  
Yoshito woke up sitting on a chair. From the slight numbness in his arms, he deduced that he was restrained from free movement though he was confused by his bonds being quite slack.  
  
He wanted to open his eyes but the sensation of cloth meant that he was currently blindfolded. But these were his only slight discomforts as the chair he was sitting in was quite comfortable to say the least, and the room was pleasantly cool, with a slight scent of antiseptic lavender.  
  
Lavender......that meant only one distinct possibility: he was in a woman's room or office. True enough, a woman was what he saw as soon as a man took away his blindfold and his vision cleared, adapting to the light inside the room. Said woman was seated across him, behind a huge table that looked more like a starship's console rather than a business desk. The woman was strikingly beautiful even though she was wearing glasses and had her hair caught in a tight bun. Her eyes though, had a certain expression that reminded him of someone he knew, though he couldn't remember yet. But his appreciation of her beauty only lasted a second or two at best as his eyes fell on the setup that served as her desk.  
  
"Whoa! That's some desk. I have got to get myself one of those," Yoshito thought to himself.  
  
"I see you're awake now," she said as she stood up and turned off the main holographic-display of her desk.  
  
"I do hope that my team wasn't too rough on you. Though I believe I should be thanking you for not being too rough on them. You certainly proved to be quite difficult to capture," she declared.  
  
"Thank you, I think..," Yoshito replied.  
  
"Such sarcasm is unnecessary, I assure you. What I said was truly a compliment. After all, it IS a testament to my handiwork in a way," she added.  
  
Yoshito was completely taken aback by the woman's last statement. "What was she implying?" he thought.  
  
"YOUR handiwork?" he asked.  
  
"I see that I have your complete attention, then. Do you want to know more?" she asked. To which, Yoshito nodded in assent.  
  
She seemed more or less pleased with Yoshito's reply and stood up. She went to him and stood behind the chair.  
  
"I'll untie you but only if I have your word that you will not attack me once you are free. Do you agree to my terms?" she asked.  
  
"...............Yes."  
  
With that, the woman undid Yoshito's bonds then went back to her desk. Yoshito took a few minutes to look at her before saying anything.  
  
"You were quite confident of my cooperation back there," he began.  
  
"Of course. It wouldn't profit you to kill me outright even IF your bonds were tight. You STILL would want to know why you were brought here in the first place," she replied.  
  
Yoshito just had to smile at her reply. Even if he did manage to kill her, he'd still have to get out of this facility and that meant going through an army more or less of security.  
  
"Okay, ma'am. You have my complete attention," he replied.  
  
"Good."  
  
She pressed a few buttons on her console and a projector emerged from the ceiling.  
  
"During the height of the Cold War, the CIA sought a way to gain an upper hand over the KGB and its other enemies. Meetings were held with various corporations and companies and after the bidding and presentations were over, two firms emerged as the final contractors for the project: STIMSOLL TECHNOLOGIES and NEO-GENETIQUE LABORATORIES."  
  
"Well that isn't new. They do that with almost every military project and weapon they develop. The most recent was the combined-strike fighter-jet which has yet to be resolved," Yoshito replied.  
  
"Yes but in this case, the object of development wasn't any weapon-system or war-machine of any sort but human genetic-manipulation," the woman added. Yoshito couldn't form any reply so she continued.  
  
"The aim was of course, to develop the perfect soldier. There were various experiments and projects that were done before but it was only when instruments and techniques were able to go really microscopic that success became closer and closer. In the end, there were two major schools of thought that prevailed."  
  
"And they were?" Yoshito asked.  
  
"Well one technique called for radical physical-enhancements while the other wanted to boost the intellectual aspect of a person. These two proposals were what the last two successfully bidding firms offered. Each had its own merits and thus the CIA decided to hold a last round of eliminations in order to prove which proved the better option. Indeed, it was toss-up between having a 'SUPER-BODY' or a 'SUPER-BRAIN'. The CIA looked to be choosing the 'SUPER-BODY' option but switched choices in the last minute and went with developing a 'SUPER-BRAIN'. The project went into high-gear almost immediately but after a few years, Congress soon stopped funding ultra-expensive weapons development. Many projects got shelved or cancelled and along with them was the 'SUPER-BRAIN' project."  
  
Through all this, the only indication that Yoshito was paying attention was his slightly raised left-eyebrow, giving no outward sign that his mind was churning with various thoughts and ideas.  
  
"Care for some refreshments, Yoshito?" she offered to which, he nodded in assent.  
  
She had two tall glasses of iced-tea brought in, along with a few small desserts. After a few minutes, they had consumed the light snack. Even Yoshito was surprised that he had three helpings of the small cakes.  
  
"That was quite refreshing, don't you agree?"  
  
"Yes. My compliments to the confectioner," Yoshito replied almost emotionlessly, eliciting laughter from her.  
  
"I'll make sure she gets to know you liked the cakes. Now where was I? Oh yes. The proponent for a SUPER-BRAIN, STIMSOLL TECHNOLOGIES, decided to carry out the project on their own though a few high-ranking CIA officials actually maintained contact with them. Things went slowly as opposed to how it would've gone had funding pushed through but they still made leaps and bounds and were successful in developing a human that had a 100% stable and superior intellect, with monstrous adaptability and a lightning-fast learning curve. Even the weakest individual could memorize an entire movie script after one hour. The best ones could learn almost any language, mathematical system, subject, even martial arts after a few minutes of just seeing them. All they needed was to access the information they'd already stored in their brains and they could apply it instantly."  
  
"Sounds familiar, doesn't it?" she asked. Yoshito however, remained as calm and stoic as he had been for the past half hour.  
  
"However, STIMSOLL TECH. didn't take into account that their rival, NEO- GENETIQUE LABS also carried out their SUPER-BODY project underground. Their sponsors now were the KGB and other terrorist-groups all of whom wanted the kind of soldiers that such a process would engineer. Things were well underway until the collapse of the Soviet Union, wherein NEO-GENETIQUE lost its biggest sponsor and the use of the extensive facilities they had. The former KGB-members didn't have enough clout to control the terrorist-groups and relations were steadily declining among them. In the end, one of the groups decided to take total control of the project. Fortunately for them, one of the heads of NEO-GENETIQUE contacted the CIA a few days earlier and asked for their assistance in the matter. What followed was the litmus-test of both experiments as there were a number of operatives sent by the CIA that were the same individuals produced by the SUPER-BRAIN project while their opponents were super-enhanced soldiers."  
  
She took a few minutes to drink a bit of her iced-tea and repositioned herself on the chair before continuing.  
  
"At first, the CIA and their operatives were at a losing stalemate. Their opponents could withstand hits or blows that would normally incapacitate a human. But true to the nature of what the SUPER-BRAIN project endowed them with, they soon turned the tide of battle and eliminated the super-enhanced soldiers. However, they were not without losses themselves as 8 of their number were killed as they had underestimated the resilience of their enemy. Among those killed were 2 enhanced-intellect soldiers. After cleaning up, the CIA returned to home-base and apprised STIMSOLL TECH of what they experienced. STIMSOLL TECH couldn't deny that the SUPER-BODY project had its merits and decided that they would integrate the 2 projects. A new team was formed to oversee the project but there was conflict among the heads. One side wanted immediate integration of the 2 processes into an individual while the other side called for taking an extra step before actual integration. STIMSOLL TECH decided to split the team and gave each side everything they'd need to carry out the project, housing them in separate facilities."  
  
Yoshito noted the slightly-raised emotion in her voice as she went into this part of her account.  
  
"Why the conflict in the first place? I thought the teams were from the same firm," he asked.  
  
"Why indeed? Well, you see the 1st team proposed that both types of enhancements could be introduced at the embryonic stage of a human being's development while the 2nd team believed otherwise. They claimed that there were simply too much irreconcilable differences in the 2 processes for both to be genetically administered in one operation. But since both sides argued for their cases well enough, the heads at STIMSOLL let them both have their way, though they did stipulate that whichever team is ultimately successful gets to absorb the other team."  
  
She took a short breather after her last statement. To Yoshito, it seemed like she was still having some sort of inner-conflict but she continued nonetheless.  
  
"In the end, one team did prove themselves right. There WERE too many differences in the processes. So much so that even an embryo's incredible healing ability and adaptability could only render the arising defect dormant. And even then, it would be only temporary."  
  
"What sort of defects are you referring to here?" Yoshito inquired though he was already suspecting what her answer might be.  
  
"Slight to worse mental-instability, megalomania, schizophrenia, etc. mostly mental-related problems. The body simply didn't know which aspects to focus on developing and even if the added nutrient-needs were addressed, the resulting embryo would still have a high probability of developing any of those defects I mentioned."  
  
"I see. How come the other team succeeded with the same project when the differences were there?" Yoshito asked.  
  
"All because they chose to add an extra step or phase in their genetic- manipulation. Instead of administering both genetic-codes into one embryo, they decided to administer those sera separately into 2 people. Also, the effects on them would be temporary"  
  
"Two people? How did they combine the codes then? Are you saying....?"  
  
"Yes. These 2 would then PROCREATE the individual that would possess BOTH attributes SEAMLESSLY."  
  
Yoshito couldn't believe what he just heard. Thoughts and ideas raced through his mind at the implications of what had been revealed to him.  
  
"The NATURAL integration of the processes was what made the other team's experiment successful. Indeed, you proved to be a very difficult subject to capture, Yoshito," she declared.  
  
Yoshito made no reply. He was seething inside as he couldn't believe that he was a product of an experiment rather than of a loving union.  
  
"No need to be agitated. I'm not done yet. As I said, the recipients of the sera would only experience the effects temporarily with only a 2-month period. I have to commend your father for his amazing foresight. Not only did he see beforehand that the 2 processes would not integrate well with each other, he and his team also altered the serum to have just a temporary effect. He proposed the idea to your mother who agreed to it as by that time, she was already your father's fiancee' even as she was co-leader of their team."  
  
"Co-leader?" Yoshito asked. He was surprised that his mother was part of the team.  
  
"Yes. They got married a few days after administering the serum to each other. Your father took the serum for physical enhancement while your mother took the mental-enhancement serum. By the time your mother was 4 months into her gestation, the effects of the sera on them had worn off completely," she replied.  
  
Yoshito was calmed down somewhat with her reply. His father DID think and plan ahead really well so it was no surprise at all. He was about to settle down completely when he remembered something.  
  
"You said there was another team. What happened to their project?" he asked.  
  
"I'm glad you asked for that is why you were brought here. "We" went ahead with our FORCED integration and at first, all seemed well. The child surpassed all our expectations and we congratulated ourselves. But she began to show signs that confirmed your father's suspicions. Of course it wasn't anything that a few behavior-altering drugs couldn't handle but it worsened through the years until it got to this point."  
  
To further emphasize her statement, she pressed a different button on her console and caused a panel in the east wall to roll up. What Yoshito saw threw him for a loop as he beheld a screaming Urumi wearing a straightjacket, with 6 attendants restraining her while another administered what turned out to be tranquilizers inside a padded room.  
  
"Yoshito Kikuchi, this is my daughter: your classmate, XH-2, also known as Urumi Kanzaki," she explained.  
  
"What's happening to her....?" Yoshito asked.  
  
"Like I said, mental-instability resulting from the forced genetic- manipulation. I was too proud and too hasty with my decisions back then and believe me, I would do anything to take it back," she replied.  
  
Yoshito was about to make a blistering retort when he saw that the Michiko Kanzaki was crying even as she spoke steadily.  
  
"How can I help?" he asked resignedly.  
  
Michiko took a few seconds to steady herself before she replied.  
  
"Well, fortunately for us, the defect can still be repaired. These defects arise from a misfired DNA-code which can be removed then replaced with a proper one. The only source for such a corrective-code is you, Yoshito."  
  
"Me?" he asked.  
  
"Yes. Your father also catalogued and studied my team's efforts even as he carried out his own. It was he who found out that your genetic-sequence could correct Urumi's defects. It was also he who came up with the extraction and patching process so that it could be safely achieved," Michiko replied.  
  
Yoshito merely nodded even as he shifted his attention to Urumi who by now was placated and sleeping.  
  
"Your father gave his permission to enlist your assistance in this matter but I'll leave it to you to decide whether you want to help or not. I will not force you to do so," Michiko declared.  
  
Yoshito took a few minutes more to look at Urumi before he turned to Michiko.  
  
"How much time does she have left?" he asked.  
  
"We have at best, 2 days," she replied.  
  
"Two days before what?"  
  
"Two days before the other persona takes over completely. After that time has passed, Urumi Kanzaki will exist no more."  
  
Yoshito thought about it for a while before he came to a decision.  
  
"Okay. I'm in," he replied.  
  
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo  
  
Meanwhile, a medical-technician made his way to Urumi's holding cell. Unknown to everyone, this tech was paid by the same terrorist-groups who still wanted back the enhancement-project the CIA took from them. The tech was carrying a hypo containing a hormone which would speed up Urumi's persona-degradation and nano-instructions which she would carry out once she was out of the facility. He successfully made it inside Urumi's cell and when he was sure no one would see, injected the hormone and instructions mix into Urumi.  
  
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo  
  
Back in Michiko Kanzaki's office, Yoshito was stating his conditions.  
  
"I'll help out in the way you and my father mentioned but if and only if my conditions are met."  
  
"Okay; let's hear it then," Ms. Kanzaki replied.  
  
"First: the genetic-code you'll extract from me will be used only to treat Urumi, no one else. Second: you will not synthesize the resulting plasma- serum you extract from me. Third: you will not create any more enhanced people like me or Urumi after this. It's only fortunate that you and my father were able to address this problem early enough and that your daughter Urumi IS a good friend of mine. Lastly: all files and data concerning this project will be deleted after this is over. Are we clear on this, Ms. Kanzaki?" Yoshito asked.  
  
"Fair enough. What if I we don't comply?" Ms. Kanzaki replied.  
  
"Then I'll destroy the files myself, this facility included," Yoshito replied.  
  
Michiko regarded Yoshito for a few minutes before a slow smile appeared on her lips. He truly was Kazuma's son. She liked him already.  
  
"And I believe you will make good on that. I'm surprised you delineated such strict terms," Ms. Kanzaki stated.  
  
"Well you'll be getting the complete CORRECT genetic-code with my compliance. I'm sure you people will be tempted to mass-produce more individuals now that everything is problem-free," Yoshito stated.  
  
"How about your father? Won't he have anything to say in the matter?"  
  
"I'll take care of that problem myself, ma'am."  
  
"Very well," Ms. Kanzaki replied.  
  
She then pressed another set of buttons to the surprise and added delight of Yoshito. A few more buttons pressed and a blood-extraction setup emerged from the middle left-side of the desk.  
  
"Is there anything that your desk CAN'T do?" Yoshito asked.  
  
"Well I can't cook a decent meal on it. I still have to use the pantry for that," Ms. Kanzaki replied.  
  
She motioned for Yoshito to place his arm over the apparatus that emerged. A robot-arm appeared with a hypo and extracted blood from him. Everything was done in a few seconds.  
  
"There, that's all we need," Ms. Kanzaki declared as she stored the vials containing Yoshito's blood.  
  
She turned to him and this time she had an honest look of gratitude as she spoke.  
  
"Thank you for doing this, Yoshito. You don't know how much you've helped us."  
  
"I came here to help Urumi, not you," Yoshito replied.  
  
Ms. Kanzaki couldn't help but smile at Yoshito's statement. The boy obviously cared a lot for her daughter but she had a feeling he wasn't aware yet just how much.  
  
"I'll have the guards escort you out of this facility. Thanks again," Ms. Kanzaki stated.  
  
Yoshito merely nodded as the guards arrived. They were about to exit when alarms started sounding all over the place.  
  
"What's happening?!!" Ms. Kanzaki yelled over the comm..  
  
"XH-2 has awakened and freed herself, ma'am! She took out the guards and is heading for the armory right now!" the staff replied.  
  
"Armory?!!! You people have an armory here?!! On second thought, don't answer that. What's she going to do with those weapons?!!" Yoshito asked.  
  
"I don't know! Kakizaki! Who was last in the room with my daughter?!!" Ms. Kanzaki yelled anew.  
  
"According to the records it was.......Ichise, ma'am!" he replied.  
  
"Go find Ichise! Now!" Ms. Kanzaki ordered.  
  
Yoshito was left alone by the guards during the commotion. As he watched what was happening, his attention went to Ms. Kanzaki's console. Indeed, Urumi was making short work of the highly trained staff guarding the armory. She was fast, efficient and lethal. After donning her gear and procuring the weapons, Urumi blew open a window, jumped out and ran to the exit after falling unharmed from 6 floors. Yoshito knew that it was hopeless to catch up with her so he decided to find out Urumi's objective from the one they called Ichise.  
  
"I take it your desk has access to every camera and sensor in this facility?" he asked and Ms. Kanzaki nodded in assent.  
  
Yoshito tapped a few commands and the 3 displays showed every view that each camera and sensor covered.  
  
"He's in Block-D, Level-4. Where can he go from there?" Yoshito asked.  
  
"There's a vacant lot that leads to a back road behind this building. He may have a car waiting there," replied Ms. Kanzaki's assistant who entered the room a few minutes ago.  
  
"I'll head him off. You guys have a team ready," Yoshito instructed.  
  
"You won't make it there in time! It takes 15 minutes to get to that area from here!" shouted the assistant though Yoshito was already out of earshot by the time he finished his warning.  
  
"Let him be, Toyotomi. He'll make it. He is XH-1, after all," Ms. Kanzaki explained.  
  
Yoshito ran all the way and was able to make it to the area a few seconds before Ichise emerged from the building.  
  
"Isn't the exit the other way around?" Yoshito asked before proceeding to knock out Ichise. The support team showed up a few minutes after.  
  
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo  
  
Back in Ms. Kanzaki's office, calls were being made to each and every area of the building, with every staff coordinating with everyone. They were surprised when Yoshito showed up with an unconscious Ichise slung over his shoulders, the support team behind him.  
  
"Here's your man," Yoshito declared as he dropped the man onto the couch he occupied before.  
  
"Somebody get me some smelling salts! Now!" Ms. Kanzaki ordered.  
  
"That'll take too long. Let me," Yoshito declared. He then pressed a pressure point on Ichise's shoulder and the man woke up. He panicked when he saw Ms. Kanzaki's face.  
  
"What did you do to my daughter?!!!" she yelled.  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about!!! Honest!" Ichise replied.  
  
Ms. Kanzaki was about to hit him when Yoshito stopped her.  
  
"Somebody get me some of that VERITAS-mixture that I saw on our way back. Hitting him will do no good," he ordered.  
  
"But..................that will fry his brain after a few minutes!" one tech explained even as he observed Yoshito looking at him with a slightly raised left eyebrow. He decided to play along.  
  
"Better his brain than Urumi's," Yoshito replied.  
  
"No! No! Not that! I'll tell everything! Just please don't use that stuff on me!" Ichise wailed.  
  
Ichise proceeded to tell them about his ties with the disgruntled terrorist- groups and their plan to discredit, sabotage and ultimately reclaim the formula to create super-soldiers. Urumi was to assassinate the Japanese premier as soon as she freed herself.  
  
"Is that all?" Yoshito asked.  
  
"Yes, that's all! I swear! Please have mercy on me!" Ichise groveled.  
  
Yoshito then gave a signal and the tech proceeded to hypodermically administer the alleged truth-serum. Ichise proceeded to pass out.  
  
"At least we know now what XH-2, I mean, Urumi wants to do," declared Najita, the head technician.  
  
"Good work. But I do not recall having you people make any truth-serum like that," Ms. Kanzaki stated.  
  
"We know that. But Ichise didn't," Yoshito replied.  
  
Once again, Ms. Kanzaki was amazed at Yoshito's creativity.  
  
"Have Team Raptor assemble in the parking lot. Their objective is to stop my daughter from carrying out her assassination attempt.  
  
Her staff complied and Ichise was carried out of the room. The activity in the room soon died out, leaving Ms. Kanzaki with Yoshito.  
  
"All we can do now is hope and pray that Team Raptor can stop her. The hormone Ichise injected shortened our window of opportunity to just 1 day. After that, XH-2 takes over and Urumi will be no more," Ms. Kanzaki stated. She then stood up to proceed to the parking lot where she would be giving Team Raptor their mission.  
  
Yoshito took a few minutes as he observed Ms. Kanzaki before he replied.  
  
"Is there extra gear that I can use?" Yoshito asked.  
  
Ms; Kanzaki was surprised at Yoshito's statement. She realized what he was saying.  
  
"You've already done enough for us, Yoshito. I can't ask you to be part of the team that will bring her back. We don't know the full extent of Urumi's capabilities and I'm afraid there's a possibility that Team Raptor might have to eliminate her altogether," she replied.  
  
"That's why I'm going. To make sure that all we do is bring Urumi back. No one else is better suited for the job. I am XH-1, after all," Yoshito stated.  
  
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo  
  
Team Raptor was fully assembled in the parking lot, waiting for Ms. Kanzaki. They saw her emerge from the building with a few guards and Yoshito clad in full gear.  
  
"Team Raptor, these are your orders: the objective is to capture and bring back alive my daughter. As you may well know, her XH-2 persona has taken over and she aims to assassinate the premier. She is to be incapacitated but not killed. I expect you all to be clear on that. Accompanying you on this mission is XH-1, otherwise known as Yoshito Kikuchi. He will be our ace-in-the-hole and co-leader with Raptor-1. I expect your team to fully cooperate with him on this mission. That is all," Ms. Kanzaki declared. She then turned and headed back into the building.  
  
"You heard the lady, now go, go, go!!!" Raptor-1 barked as the team split into 2 groups and boarded the helicopters. He then approached Yoshito.  
  
"So you'll be joining us, XH-1?"  
  
"The name's Yoshito Kikuchi. But XH-1 will do for now," Yoshito replied.  
  
The 2 men sized each other up for a few minutes before Raptor-1 declared: "I expect you to carry out my orders without question, you got that?"  
  
"Affirmative," Yoshito replied.  
  
"Glad to have you on our side for a change, kid. Now let's go get your girlfriend."  
  
"She's not my girlfriend!"  
  
"Whatever." 


	3. Chapter 3

PROTOTYPE3

Yoshito Kikuchi was currently riding inside a helicopter along with more than a dozen men which comprised Team Raptor. It wasn't as turbulent a ride as he expected it to be as it was a model slightly larger than an American Huey.

Sitting across Yoshito was Barnabas "Barney" Blackwell, otherwise known as Raptor-1. He was a man of medium build but such wasn't evident from first-hand sighting as intense training had gotten him to look almost 30 percent more muscular and sinewy. He was about 6'1" and had brown hair which he wore quite long though neatly tied in a short ponytail. He was in full gear as was his teammates which comprised Team Raptor. (think "BORMA" of Ghost In The Shell: Standalone Complex)

Yoshito himself wore the same clothes though he opted for lesser equipment, which was made up of a Kevlar vest, two 9mm pistols, 2 sets of mini-tools, 6 clips of ammunition and a combat knife. He was also wearing the same communication gear that Blackwell and the others were using.

"I still say you're traveling too light," Raptor-1 volunteered.

Yoshito regarded him for a while before answering.

"We can't risk packing too much gear as it'll weigh us down. As it is, you guys look like you're ready to start a full-scale war with the whole Nazi-regime," Yoshito replied.

"With your girlfriend being our target, we may as well be," Raptor-1 replied in return.

"She's not….." Yoshito was about to retort but he decided it would be useless to do so as Raptor-1 seemed to have decided that Yoshito and Urumi were a couple. Oddly enough, this reminded him of Onizuka's own attempts at matchmaking. Yet Raptor-1's last statement was quite near the truth as far as the gravity of the situation was concerned. Indeed, Urumi was NOT to be taken lightly. Yoshito recalled how she made short work of the highly-trained team guarding the armory back at the facility. Heck, he recalled his own run-in with Team Raptor in the alleys near the Kanzaki residence and even then as Najita told him back at Kanzaki headquarters, he was yet to use his full range of powers/abilities.

"I'm aware of that. However, the area where she's headed isn't exactly the most conducive for people in full-combat gear to operate unseen. Today's the day of the first-ever Japanese approximation of Mardi Gras and there are UN delegates visiting. The Premier will be joining the parade before giving a speech when it ends. That's a 2-hour window of opportunity for Urumi to execute her assassination attempt as that's how long the parade around the city will take. I've isolated 6 possible areas which are best-suited for such a task," Yoshito stated as he turned his laptop around so that Raptor-1 and the others could see.

Team Raptor saw the specific points that Yoshito highlighted. True enough, any of the 6 areas would give any would-be assassin a clear shot to a target and enable escape easily.

"Looks like you did you homework, kid. What makes you think XH-2 WILL pick those spots?" Raptor-1 inquired.

Yoshito took a few seconds before replying to Raptor-1's inquiry.

"Because I would choose those spots myself," Yoshito replied.

A few seconds of silence went by before Raptor-2 joined the discussion.

"It does look bad, chief. Which of those locations do you think XH-2 would pick?"

"Good question; what do you think, XH-1?" Raptor-1 asked Yoshito.

"All of them."

"All of them?"

"All of them."

"Impossible! She can't be in all of those places at once, can't she?" Raptor-2 asked.

The other team members were about to voice their objections when Raptor-1 raised his hand, giving them the signal to shut up.

"Let the kid have his say," he declared.

Raptor-1 then turned to Yoshito then raised his left eyebrow as he spoke.

"Well? We're waiting, kid. What makes it necessary for us to split the team and cover all those areas?"

Yoshito eyed the team-leader before answering.

"Simple: she doesn't have to be," Yoshito began.

"Before Urumi escaped from the facility, she broke into the armory and procured the necessary gear and weapons. I've confirmed this with Najita and he sent me a list of what specific weapons and equipment she took. Aside from the usual array of pistols and ammunition, she also took 6 Steyr recoilless-rifles which can be tripod mounted, a dozen extended-range remote-control receptors with lithium-ion batteries, motion-sensors, and a box of C4. She also took a whole batch of tazer-net. Care to explain that, Raptor-1?"

"Tazer-net is simply another application of the technology used in tazer-guns. However, the voltage is at 200K instead of the usual 75," Raptor-1 replied.

"I see. This only means one thing: she intends to remotely trigger the other 5 rifles even as she personally handles one setup so we have no choice but to disable ALL of those setups," Yoshito explained.

The whole Team Raptor could only shake their heads in amazement at what Yoshito explained.

"I've got to hand it to your girlfriend: she's very thorough," Raptor-1 stated.

"Agreed," Yoshito replied without thinking, before he saw Raptor-1's raised eyebrow and added quickly, "She is thorough."

"Mm-hmm," Raptor-1 simply said. Yoshito had the distinct feeling that he was laughing at him and felt a bit annoyed. _"When this is all over…….I'm going to make this guy talk…," _he promised himself.

_**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**_

Elsewhere in the city, in an abandoned underground facility, a group of about 2 dozen people was gathering. Fully-armed and weapons loaded, these were the members of an ultra-radical terrorist group who had ties with almost the middle-eastern terrorist circles. The room they were in was nondescript to say the least, save for the amount of electronic-gear that was set up inside where various monitors and screens showed certain areas of the city, focused primarily on the ongoing parade.

"What's the status of the target?" asked a man who from his appearance looked every bit the leader of the group.

"Target is currently heading for their specified rendezvous point. From there, the Japanese premier will be boarding the UN-Float after which the parade will commence," replied the aide who was currently monitoring the events on a monitor display.

The leader stayed silent even as he himself watched the full-blown media-coverage of Japan's Mardi Gras Parade. As he watched, another man came up to where he was seated and addressed him.

"We've been holed up in here for more than half a day, Commander Adjarih. How long must we endure these conditions? Are you sure your operative will arrive soon? All my men and equipment are in place already but we can't start until this "special" operative of yours arrives," the man questioned.

"Just a bit longer, my good friend. We cannot be too hasty in carrying out this operation, you know. Rest assured, my special-operative will be arriving very, very soon. Like you said, you and your men are all set," replied the man known as Jaheim Adjarih.

"Are you sure this operative of yours is worth the wait? For all we know he may have been captured already or worse, dead. Fat lot of good that will do for us," chided the man as he turned his back away from the sitting Adjarih.

The man was about to add another stinging insult when he felt his legs give out from under him as Commander Adjarih had suddenly stood up, swept the man's feet from under him, gave the man a quick punch in the gut before positioning a knife under his throat. This was done in less than 2 seconds.

"I assure you that the operative we're waiting for will be worth your while so I suggest you just sit back and wait patiently or I won't be so "gentle" the next time," Jaheim stated gently even as he pressed the edge of his knife deeper into the man's neck, producing a thin slash that wasn't enough to harm but more than adequate to scare the man into compliance.

Jaheim then released the man from his hold and stood up, wiping his knife with his kerchief. All around him, the personnel and men were struck dumb at his recent display of skill. Jaheim had to smile to himself as he ordered them to go back to their duties.

"Any other additional information that I should be aware of, Sgt. Juaymah?" Jaheim inquired of the second technician who was surveying the eastern sector of the city.

"As we expected sir, Kanzaki Corp. has sent out a crack-team in order to deal with the situation. I estimate a full 4 hours until they catch up with the operative," replied the man.

"Crack-team, eh? Have our aerial scanners zero-in on their current location," ordered Jaheim as he took in the new information. For some odd reason, he looked somewhat ecstatic yet menacing at the same time as he waited for the new data to come in.

"We have visual confirmation, sir. Two unmarked choppers have just been spotted over the outskirts of the city and their general direction is concurrent with the operative's current location," reported the tech.

"How far is she from where we are?"

"About 5 city-blocks more until she reaches us sir, in about 30 minutes. Unfortunately, she's on foot and by the looks of it, the team will intercept her in less than twenty," the tech added.

"We have confirmed identity of the choppers, Commander," another tech reported.

"And…?"

"It's Team Raptor from Kanzaki Corporation, sir."

"You don't say……..Keep me updated on further developments. Send out the retrieval team to intercept the operative. We can't let Team Raptor get to her," Jaheim ordered.

"Well, well, well, Commander Blackwell; it seems we get to have our rematch after all," Jaheim thought to himself as he sat down.

**_Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo_**

Back at Seirin High, Eikichi Onizuka, Azusa Fuyutsuki and the rest of the faculty were busy organizing the students into groups as the school was to take part in the parade. The whole retinue would rendezvous with the main body of the parade at a specific point in the city streets. Various countries had been assigned to the student population and all the students were busy putting on their costumes. The assigning of countries was supposed to have been raffled among the homeroom teachers but Onizuka had rigged it such that he would end up getting Germany as his class' costume theme.

"Please don't tell me we have to join the parade wearing these silly outfits! We got hats but wear shorts? This is silly!" lamented Murai who wailed in distress about the leg-exposure he and the rest of the guys had to experience with the male German costume.

"And why do we have to lug these heavy kegs around! This is torture!" Murai added.

"That keg contains beer, I bet. Trust Onizuka to choose a country where beer-drinking is almost mandatory," Kusano laughingly noted.

"That's the whole idea! Now if you guys take good care of those kegs, we get to drink the contents after the parade! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" stated Onizuka who was suddenly with them.

"Why don't you carry them around then!" retorted Murai who was already hunched down as his keg was bigger compared to those Fujiyoshi and the others were carrying.

"Eikichi, are you sure it's alright to have your students carry around alcoholic beverages? This IS a very important affair and I'm sure vice-principal Uchiyamada will not look kindly on this if anything goes wrong." Fuyutsuki cautioned.

"Don't you worry your pretty little head, my darling Azusa! I'll take care of it. I am the GREAT TEACHER ONIZUKA! Bwa-ha-ha-ha!" Onizuka replied.

True enough, vice-principal Uchiyamada was stomping his way towards Onizuka, wagging his finger and rambling about how shameful it was for Onizuka to have his students carry beer kegs during the parade and how such a scandal would cost him of his hard-earned position and reputation.

Almost two hours later though, it was the same Uchiyamada who was drunkenly carousing and reveling along with Onizuka and his class, singing their best approximation of "99 BottlesOf Beer". Oddly enough, it has he who had Murai in a headlock as he wanted the biggest keg near him in order to have refills quickly.

"Ah sensei, Just what kind of beer did you have us carry anyway?" asked Kusano who was surprised at Uchiyamada's revelry.

"Only the best: KIRIN EXTRA STRONG! Ha-ha-ha-ha! I've a few friends in the beer industry who were once members of my motorcycle gang, you see. So it was easy for me to ask for a few kegs! Onizuka replied.

"Extra strong, eh? No wonder the vice-principal and the rest of our faculty are going about like crazy. And you said we'd be drinking this AFTER the parade!" Fujiyoshi laughingly added.

_**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo **_

Back in the underground facility, Commander Adjarih was still watching the ongoing parade. Due to some small miscues and mishaps with the said parade, he was forced to alter the earlier plans and instead of having Urumi rendezvous with them, she went to phase-3 and immediately went about setting up the remote-controlled redundant firing points. To escape detection, Cmdr. Adjarih had his team drop off stealth-gear/equipment for her at a certain area in the city's alleys.

"Target confirms pick-up of stealth-gear and will proceed to setup after activation," a tech reported.

"Good," Adjarih replied.

"That stealth-clothing is amazing. Leave it to the Russians to develop such a weapon," remarked Major Yasser Mushaf who was absentmindedly feeling the bandage he was sporting on his neck after Adjarih's "persuasion" a while ago.

It's not just clothing, it's armor too: Kevlar MKII which has thinner strands than standard-issue Kevlar but three times stronger, also developed by the KGB," Adjarih explained.

"She's activated the suit, sir,"

"Good. Let me know when she's finished with the weapon setups," Adjarih replied. He was about to turn away when the tech reported that Team Raptor's helicopter was now circling the area.

"They haven't detected her yet sir, but they don't seem to be leaving the area anytime soon," the tech reported.

"What do you think, Commander? Do you think they'll detect her?" asked Mushaf.

Cmdr. Adjarih was silently taking it all in before he replied.

"They can't detect her, not just yet. But then this is Team Raptor we're dealing with and if I know these people, they'll soon find a way. Major Mushaf, assemble your team. We will have to move the schedule up. Take down this facility and get ready to move out. I don't want any traces of anything left in this room, understand?" Adjarih ordered.

"Not bad, Blackwell. You haven't lost your touch," Adjarih thought to himself as he kept his eye on the radar blip of Team Raptor's helicopter on the screen.

**_ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo _**

Flying overhead, Team Raptor was scanning the city grid in a search pattern that doubled-back over the area every 10 minutes. Each member was using an array of highly specialized binoculars which not only used infra-red and x-ray, but actually had double the range and magnification. However, none of them had yet to see anything down below. Yoshito however, wasn't using his scope but had linked his laptop with the chopper's onboard systems.

"What do you plan to do with that thing?" Raptor-2 asked upon noticing Kikuchi.

"I'm pretty sure that none of the gear we have will enable us detect Urumi…..XH-2 if she IS down there. However, there might be a way to detect where's she's been," Yoshito replied.

"If you're referring to footsteps or thermal traces, I don't think we'll have any luck there kid. With all the skills she's got as an XH-prototype, I bet she isn't leaving any in the first place. Worse, I believe she could be wearing some sort of cloaking armor or suit of some kind. We could well be wasting our time even with these souped-up scopes," Raptor-1 replied.

"Stealth-armor, you say? That may well be the case. But armor or not, she can't escape the laws of physics and that's where we'll be able to detect her," Kikuchi replied.

"Physics?" Raptor-1 and 2 asked incredulously.

"Physics." Kikuchi replied.

Kikuchi went on to explain how a person would still occupy space and displace the air as that person moved. The problem was that the equipment they were using was calibrated for normal search parameters and did not factor in otherwise negligible factors such as slight temperature variations in air. However, such variations were still too small to be of any significance but Kikuchi showed them a technique which would allow them to do just that.

"I've a program in my laptop that measures slight differences in air pressure based on thermal images. Using the images which our equipment has gathered, we'll soon be able to "see" XH-2. I've yet to iron out the algorithms and equations for the program but it works nonetheless. See here? If we filter out the other areas where there's a lot of activity, we can narrow down our search field to areas with a temperature that is more or less static. Differences in air pressure also means a slight drop in temperatures so if XH-2 is indeed down there, the "wake" she leaves will enable us to "see" her, " Kikuchi explained to a now amazed Team Raptor.

True enough, there it was or rather, there was Urumi. It wasn't a visual image of course but the absence of one which had a trail of lower-temp. air and it was this which Kikuchi was hoping to detect.

"I've got to hand it to you kid, you know your Science very well, not to mention your girlfriend," Raptor-1 remarked.

Kikuchi gave the man the coldest stare he could muster and replied: "Like you said, I know my Science."

"But from the images we've finally gathered it looks like she's traveling lightly now. You said a while back that she had a ton of gear and weapons with her," Raptor-2 noted.

"My guess is she's done with her other setups and is proceeding to the last one, the one she'l personally use," Raptor-1 replied.

"You'd better take a look at this sir," prompted the co-pilot who was manning the remote-mounted camera.

The screen showed 6 groups of armed men heading towards different areas in the city. Yoshito knew already which areas they were heading for.

"Inform headquarters that we need backup. Have the remaining teams towards those areas. Keep a channel open for the police in case we need their assistance," Raptor-1 ordered.

"Hey Blackwell; it appears we have old friends in the neighborhood," Raptor-2 declared as he watched the screen.

It showed a van heading for a building which had about 6 levels of parking before the actual office spaces. The other members were obscured from view but the men in front were clearly seen.

"Well, well, well, Commander Adjarih…..," Raptor-1 muttered.

Kikuchi noted the change in Raptor-1's expression and behavior. Clearly, there was some history between the leader of Team Raptor and the man riding in the passenger seat of the van on screen.

"Old friend of yours?" Kikuchi asked.

"Yup. We go waaay back," Raptor-1 replied.

"I was hoping we wouldn't have to do this but we need to split up, men. Half of you will go with Raptor-2 here and neutralize setup #2. I'll take the other half and proceed to setup 3# while the teams coming from headquarters will deal with the other setups. Keep in mind men, failure is NOT an option. Good luck to you all," Raptor-1 ordered.

Kikuchi looked an as the helicopter proceeded to drop off Raptor-2 and his team then take off again to drop off Raptor-1 and the rest.

"So I take it I'm coming with you to setup #3?" Kikuchi asked.

"No. You're going to setup #1, your girlfriend's personal setup. Only you can stop her. The rest of the men and I will take care of the other setups," Raptor-1 replied as he reorganized his gear.

"She is not my girlfriend! Why do you keep insinuating………"

"Can it, kid! I've no time to explain things to you now but I'm not insinuating anything! Your success may very well depend on this specific factor. So if I were you, I'd start thinking about XH-2, no, Urumi as such. Not just success kid, but survival. Yours AND hers," Raptor-1 stated.

"What do you mean?" Kikuchi asked, confused at Raptor-1's statement.

"You'll know when the time comes, kid. You'll know. I wish I could say more but we're out of time," Raptor-1 replied.

Kikuchi was still confused when the chopper set down to let Raptor-1 and his team out. Before stepping out though, Team leader Blackwell got something from his pocket and tossed it to Kikuchi.

"Here kid, take this! It'll answer at least some of your questions. Now hurry up and get your girlfriend!" Raptor-1 barked out as the chopper took off again to bring Kikuchi to where Kanzaki was.

The object Raptor-1 gave him was actually a flash-disk which Kikuchi then inserted into the proper slot on his laptop. It contained a video file and after typing out the necessary commands, Kikuchi began to watch. The image of his father popped up and it showed how Dr. Kazuma Kikuchi was explaining to joint NATO & CIA heads what had transpired in the incident that Dr. Kanzaki told about before. In the background were the remaining members of the elite force who were the enhanced-intellect humans from the "Super-Brain" method and among them were Raptor-1 and 2. Kikuchi's father was now actually scolding the NATO/CIA heads for their haphazard deployment of the team which resulted in the death of some of the members. As the rest of the video-file played, Kikuchi got to know that among those who got killed was Raptor-1's fiancée. The enormity of that loss was worsened since an unusual complication arose from the super-brain procedure. The closest illustration would be the kind of bonds which existed within the hierarchy of wolf-packs or a pride of lions. This was what gave the team incredible coordination which resulted in a virtually perfect mission-record. But what held true for wolves or lions also held true for them. In as much as pack or pride-leaders had to subjugate the members in a way, so did the team leader/s. But since the animal-structure was more or less matriarchal, the scientists had to genetically map out a way in order for ease of leadership regardless of gender. Of course, this didn't actually eliminate the problem since natural succession had to take place as well but at least member integration would be faster and there would be less "illogical insubordination". The same principle held true for Blackwell and his fiancée. She was always at odds with him and often questioned his orders but when he finally asserted his leadership, she mellowed and things ran like clockwork for the team. This blossomed into a full courtship and soon they were engaged.

The video ended but though Kikuchi more or less understood what needed to be done, he was still unsure if he actually needed to do such with Kanzaki. His thoughts were disturbed though as the chopper landed on top of a building and gunshots started ringing. Kikuchi could barely dodge and gather his gear in time but he was able to do so and jumped out. The pilot however, wasn't as fortunate as he got shot in the head and died instantly. The next shots punctured the fuel tank and sparks ignited the chopper, resulting in a huge fireball.

Kikuchi barely had time to react as 3 men rushed him. Hits that would normally incapacitate a human got through and try as he might, Kikuchi was at first unable to defend himself and ended up kissing the floor. But as it was in the back alley, Kikuchi had already absorbed the necessary information on the 3 men's fighting styles and as he stood up, he knew that this fight would be over.

The 3 began their attack anew but this time, to no avail. Kikuchi was now blocking and dodging ALL their attacks and even in the middle of their onslaught, Kikuchi gave each a punishing blow to the solar plexus. Not one of them stood up again.

"Impressive, Kikuchi Yoshito……or should I say, XH-1?" Kanzaki declared as she turned off the cloaking-suit.

Kikuchi turned to her direction and was amazed at what he saw. Honestly, he thought her outfit was MUCH too flattering.

"You like what you see? Well, you'll have to get through me if you ever want to see your dear, sweet Urumi again. But you don't stand a chance, not with that pathetic display you just showed me," XH-2 sneered.

"Pathetic, eh? Well then, don't say I didn't warn you," Kikuchi replied as he went into a stance and signaled XH-2 to attack.


End file.
